Mother of teen suspect in throat-slashing case urged him to end relationship

By AUSTIN L. MILLERStaff writer

Published: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 at 7:07 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 at 7:07 p.m.

Maria Hernandez said she urged her 15-year-old son to break off a relationship with his younger girlfriend.

Pedro H. Solis didn't listen. Nor did the girl.

"I told her to leave Pedro alone," his mother said Tuesday.

Speaking amid tears in the living room of their Reddick home, the horse farm worker described "a good son" who pined for the girl, 13-year-old Yaquelin Galvez Don, and talked with her often by phone.

The teens were arrested Sunday and are in juvenile detention at the Marion County Jail, facing two counts of conspiracy to commit murder and one count of attempted murder. Marion County sheriff's detectives say Pedro slit the throat of Yaquelin's mother after the girl lured her to the garage and handed him a knife.

Chief Assistant State Attorney Ric Ridgway said Tuesday that prosecutors have not yet decided whether the teens will be charged as adults. And detectives continued their investigation, talking with their classmates at North Marion Middle School, and preparing to obtain search warrants for their phones and computers.

Pedro, the eldest of three children, doesn't get in any trouble, Hernandez said.

"I don't understand why he (would) do it," she said. "He cleans the bathroom. He cleans the house. He rakes the leaves. He's a good boy."

Hernandez said she doesn't know much about the case, other than what she has heard and seen on television. She said his 5-year-old sister and 9-year-old brother miss Pedro and wish he were home.

On Saturday, she said, Pedro asked her if he could go out with his friends and she told him yes. He left that morning and that would be the last time she saw him until his court appearance Monday.

On Saturday afternoon, she said, he called and told her he wanted to stay at a friend's home for the night.

He is originally from Mexico, she said, but lived in Chicago for a few years before they moved to Marion County. He attended Reddick Collier Elementary and then North Marion Middle School, where he met Yaquelin.

The two talked frequently on the phone, at times until 1 or 3 a.m., Hernandez said.

"She calls Pedro all the time," she said, wiping away tears.

Though the girl never visited their home, Hernandez said she talked with her, telling her that she was too young for her son. At other times, Hernandez said she told Pedro to leave the girl alone, but her words fell on deaf ears.

Things got bad in September, when Pedro was suspended from school for a year for having a small amount of marijuana, his mother said. He was sent to Silver River Mentoring & Instruction or SRMI, an alternative school.

Pedro and Yaquelin still talked to each other daily, she said. "He didn't want to go there. He would cry saying he misses her and he loves her." Pedro wanted to go back to North Marion Middle so he could see her.

About 11 miles away, at Yaquelin's family home, a yellow brick residence on Northwest 55th Place in Ocala Park Estates, a woman declined to comment.

A neighbor, who didn't want to be identified, told the Star-Banner the family has lived there for almost two years and has fixed the place up.

They seemed "like a loving family," she said. Though Yaquelin's father uses a wheelchair, that didn't stop him from playing with the children outside.

"They're always outside with the children, playing," the woman said. Sheriff's officials said Yaquelin has a 3-year-old brother.

The neighbor said she was as "shocked as everyone" to hear what had happened.

Ridgway, with the State Attorney's Office, said several factors will play a role in the decision whether to charge the teens as adults. Those include their ages, maturity, any previous criminal record and the nature of the crime.

The Department of Juvenile Justice will attempt to interview the parents of both teens and submit recommendations, Ridgway said. A decision won't come until their next court date, currently set for March 18.

The crimes came to light early Sunday morning, when the Sheriff's Office received a call about a woman whose throat had been cut being dropped off at Munroe Regional Medical Center. She was later transferred to Ocala Regional Medical.

The victim, Luz A. Galvez, underwent surgery.

Afterward, Detective Mark Peavy interviewed her with help from a physical therapist assistant, according to Sheriff's Office reports.

She told him her daughter, Yaquelin, woke her up, supposedly worried about a noise in the garage. She looked out the sliding glass door and the front door but didn't see anything.

Then she went into the garage and was confronted by Pedro. She told Peavy the boy sliced her throat, from her right to left on the right side of her neck. The woman said she put direct pressure on the wound because she was losing a lot of blood.

The boy told her, she said, that she should allow Yaquelin to be with him, that he could take care of her and that she shouldn't have hit him with a stick the last time they saw each other.

The injured woman said she convinced Pedro to take her to the hospital. During the ride to the hospital, Galvez said, she promised the boy she would not sue him and that he could be with Yaquelin.

According to the reports, Peavy also interviewed Yaquelin's father, Jorge Don-Brianes, who said Pedro came into his room and put the knife to his throat, threatening him. The man said he told Pedro that if he had hurt his wife, he should take her to the hospital.

At first, both teens told the detective someone else attacked Galvez but then they admitted their involvement, according to MCSO reports.

Pedro told him they had talked over the phone and on Facebook about killing Yaquelin's parents so they could be together.

Peavy said Yaquelin admitted discussing the plan for about a week and that she gave Pedro the knife.

As the investigation continued Tuesday, Peavy and Detective Frank Scala went to North Marion Middle to interview students. The detectives said no one had heard or seen anything out of the ordinary.

After examining the teens' cellphones and computers, they'll present the case to the State Attorney's Office.

Pedro's mother said she plans on being at his next court appearance and is holding out hope he will come home soon.

"I miss him," she said.

Until now, the Star-Banner had withheld the suspects' names because of their ages. That was in keeping with the newspaper's general practice of not naming juveniles accused of crimes. But this case has drawn extensive publicity, including the publication of the suspects' names by multiple media outlets.

Considering that, it seemed unlikely that their identities would remain private. Because of that reality, and considering the severity of the charges, the paper will now identify the suspects by name.

<p>Maria Hernandez said she urged her 15-year-old son to break off a relationship with his younger girlfriend.</p><p>Pedro H. Solis didn't listen. Nor did the girl.</p><p>"I told her to leave Pedro alone," his mother said Tuesday.</p><p>Speaking amid tears in the living room of their Reddick home, the horse farm worker described "a good son" who pined for the girl, 13-year-old Yaquelin Galvez Don, and talked with her often by phone.</p><p>The teens were arrested Sunday and are in juvenile detention at the Marion County Jail, facing two counts of conspiracy to commit murder and one count of attempted murder. Marion County sheriff's detectives say Pedro slit the throat of Yaquelin's mother after the girl lured her to the garage and handed him a knife.</p><p>Chief Assistant State Attorney Ric Ridgway said Tuesday that prosecutors have not yet decided whether the teens will be charged as adults. And detectives continued their investigation, talking with their classmates at North Marion Middle School, and preparing to obtain search warrants for their phones and computers.</p><p>Pedro, the eldest of three children, doesn't get in any trouble, Hernandez said.</p><p>"I don't understand why he (would) do it," she said. "He cleans the bathroom. He cleans the house. He rakes the leaves. He's a good boy."</p><p>Hernandez said she doesn't know much about the case, other than what she has heard and seen on television. She said his 5-year-old sister and 9-year-old brother miss Pedro and wish he were home.</p><p>On Saturday, she said, Pedro asked her if he could go out with his friends and she told him yes. He left that morning and that would be the last time she saw him until his court appearance Monday.</p><p>On Saturday afternoon, she said, he called and told her he wanted to stay at a friend's home for the night.</p><p>He is originally from Mexico, she said, but lived in Chicago for a few years before they moved to Marion County. He attended Reddick Collier Elementary and then North Marion Middle School, where he met Yaquelin.</p><p>The two talked frequently on the phone, at times until 1 or 3 a.m., Hernandez said.</p><p>"She calls Pedro all the time," she said, wiping away tears.</p><p>Though the girl never visited their home, Hernandez said she talked with her, telling her that she was too young for her son. At other times, Hernandez said she told Pedro to leave the girl alone, but her words fell on deaf ears.</p><p>Things got bad in September, when Pedro was suspended from school for a year for having a small amount of marijuana, his mother said. He was sent to Silver River Mentoring & Instruction or SRMI, an alternative school.</p><p>Pedro and Yaquelin still talked to each other daily, she said. "He didn't want to go there. He would cry saying he misses her and he loves her." Pedro wanted to go back to North Marion Middle so he could see her.</p><p>About 11 miles away, at Yaquelin's family home, a yellow brick residence on Northwest 55th Place in Ocala Park Estates, a woman declined to comment.</p><p>A neighbor, who didn't want to be identified, told the Star-Banner the family has lived there for almost two years and has fixed the place up.</p><p>They seemed "like a loving family," she said. Though Yaquelin's father uses a wheelchair, that didn't stop him from playing with the children outside.</p><p>"They're always outside with the children, playing," the woman said. Sheriff's officials said Yaquelin has a 3-year-old brother.</p><p>The neighbor said she was as "shocked as everyone" to hear what had happened.</p><p>Ridgway, with the State Attorney's Office, said several factors will play a role in the decision whether to charge the teens as adults. Those include their ages, maturity, any previous criminal record and the nature of the crime.</p><p>The Department of Juvenile Justice will attempt to interview the parents of both teens and submit recommendations, Ridgway said. A decision won't come until their next court date, currently set for March 18.</p><p>The crimes came to light early Sunday morning, when the Sheriff's Office received a call about a woman whose throat had been cut being dropped off at Munroe Regional Medical Center. She was later transferred to Ocala Regional Medical.</p><p>The victim, Luz A. Galvez, underwent surgery.</p><p>Afterward, Detective Mark Peavy interviewed her with help from a physical therapist assistant, according to Sheriff's Office reports.</p><p>She told him her daughter, Yaquelin, woke her up, supposedly worried about a noise in the garage. She looked out the sliding glass door and the front door but didn't see anything.</p><p>Then she went into the garage and was confronted by Pedro. She told Peavy the boy sliced her throat, from her right to left on the right side of her neck. The woman said she put direct pressure on the wound because she was losing a lot of blood.</p><p>The boy told her, she said, that she should allow Yaquelin to be with him, that he could take care of her and that she shouldn't have hit him with a stick the last time they saw each other.</p><p>The injured woman said she convinced Pedro to take her to the hospital. During the ride to the hospital, Galvez said, she promised the boy she would not sue him and that he could be with Yaquelin.</p><p>According to the reports, Peavy also interviewed Yaquelin's father, Jorge Don-Brianes, who said Pedro came into his room and put the knife to his throat, threatening him. The man said he told Pedro that if he had hurt his wife, he should take her to the hospital.</p><p>At first, both teens told the detective someone else attacked Galvez but then they admitted their involvement, according to MCSO reports.</p><p>Pedro told him they had talked over the phone and on Facebook about killing Yaquelin's parents so they could be together.</p><p>Peavy said Yaquelin admitted discussing the plan for about a week and that she gave Pedro the knife.</p><p>As the investigation continued Tuesday, Peavy and Detective Frank Scala went to North Marion Middle to interview students. The detectives said no one had heard or seen anything out of the ordinary.</p><p>After examining the teens' cellphones and computers, they'll present the case to the State Attorney's Office.</p><p>Pedro's mother said she plans on being at his next court appearance and is holding out hope he will come home soon.</p><p>"I miss him," she said.</p><p>Until now, the Star-Banner had withheld the suspects' names because of their ages. That was in keeping with the newspaper's general practice of not naming juveniles accused of crimes. But this case has drawn extensive publicity, including the publication of the suspects' names by multiple media outlets.</p><p>Considering that, it seemed unlikely that their identities would remain private. Because of that reality, and considering the severity of the charges, the paper will now identify the suspects by name.</p><p><i>Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118 or austin.miller@starbanner.com.</i></p>